


gravity (what goes up)

by stubborn_jerk



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Banter, Battle Couple, Canon-Typical Violence, Communication, Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Torture, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Light Angst, Mobsters and Gangs, Not Beta Read, Other, POV Alternating, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25147828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stubborn_jerk/pseuds/stubborn_jerk
Summary: “Well, as pleasant as this all is, I’m gonna have to cut this short, Rose. I believe you owe me a few things.”“What things?”“An explanation and a Family visit. It’ll be as civil as I can get it to be, but I can’t really promise you much.”In which Juno and Nureyev's pasts don't run as parallel as they think it does.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel, Rita & Juno Steel, Undisclosed Relationship(s)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 112





	gravity (what goes up)

**Author's Note:**

> I asked [ Northisnotup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/northisnotup) for this idea of hers a few weeks back and then I did fanart for it and then I just kept procrastinating. But here it is, complete with a whole lot of things I added for no reason but self-indulgence.
> 
> required listening: [Chloe x Halle - Wonder What She Thinks of Me](https://youtu.be/GN-Q9Np2QYA)
> 
> this is a fic about juno and nureyev's pasts catching up to them post-retirement.
> 
> Additional warnings for mentions alcohol. It's not a big thing but it's in there.

“Hm.”

Juno leaned back against the seatback as he kept his eye on their exit. “What’s _hm_? That’s bad, isn’t it.”

They haven’t so much as looked at each other upon entering the casino bar that evening. 

The job called for it. They were only supposed to be here for one person, and they were dressed to the nines just to attract them. So, no looking like they knew each other.

The thing was, Nureyev was hard not to look at. Being the one more people were attracted to, Nureyev was the better choice to distract a mark. So, Juno was mostly backup, if he ended up not being their type.

If asked a few years and stages of development back, Juno would have told anyone asking he had to keep an eye on Nureyev because he wanted to keep the thief in his line of sight. Nowadays, it was because, as always, Peter Nureyev looked stunning.

He hazarded a glance behind him. “Hey.”

Nureyev was worried. Juno could see it in the deepening of that frown line he always tried to hide, in the subtle way he clenched his jaw. He was holding up a glass of something vaguely fruity, fake sipping every now and then. 

He didn’t look at Juno when he said, “Someone I know just walked in.”

Juno snorted, bringing his own drink to his lips as he went back to ignoring him. Unlike Nureyev, he didn’t fake a sip. “Look, I know you don’t like loose ends, but I don’t think that’d be such a big problem for you, unless they got a good look at you before.”

He let the pause between his next statement fester like an itch. Being back on the job was bringing up old habits like wanting to have the last word. “They _didn’t_ get _that_ good a look at you, did they? Should I be jealous?”

Nureyev seemed to be onto him. “ _Ju_ no.”

He chuckled. “Alright, I’m just messing with ya. Just lay low and tell me who it is, just in case.”

“By the casino entrance, bright red pantsuit. You can’t miss them.”

Juno turned in his seat to ‘drop’ his purse. It was a whole number with the aggrieved sigh and taking his drink with him as he bent down out of his booth. He glanced over at the casino entrance.

Nureyev was right about the bright red. Gilded and glinting under the lights, it was hard not to miss them. 

But Juno would have recognized them with or without it. From the way they stood to the way they walked, the long swept-back hair that, though peppered with grays now, was as dark as Juno remembered it.

A ghost of an argument about dress and suit colors played in his head. He couldn’t help the smile pulling at his lips at the memory of it, right until they turned to look his way.

Juno flinched and slid back into his booth, safe where they couldn't spot him over Nureyev’s ever-looming height.

“Uh yeah, slight problem with our backup plan there.” He ignored the raised pitch of panic in his voice.

“What, what is it?”

“They might not recognize you, but they _will_ recognize _me_.”

“What?” A shuffle of clothing as Nureyev probably turned to look.

Juno hastened to scold him, “No, don’t _look_ at me.” 

Nureyev turned back around, thoroughly chastised. 

Just then, their target entered through the exit doors he was guarding.

“Juno…”

“I’ll tell you later. Our target’s here. Just– Try not to get recognized, alright?”

“Of course.”

“Good luck.”

For the first time that evening, Nureyev turned to look at him. 

And _damn_ if he wasn’t stunning in that dress.

Nureyev saw him looking and smiled. “I won’t need it, dear.”

Juno rolled his eye in response.

He can’t believe he was lucky enough to get married to this chump instead.

* * *

Of course, it was going to go wrong. 

It always did.

One moment he was keeping an eye on Nureyev and the target talking over their respective breakfasts. The next, they were running away from armed guards who seemed to not know who they were dealing with.

(Not that Juno could fault them for it. Virtually speaking, Nureyev only got back on the grid with an official ID a few years back. Before that was nothing.)

Now, Nureyev rarely got caught on the job (unless it had been part of the plan or with Juno) and he was always sure to call for backup. Considering how long it’d been since they’d done something like this though, Juno couldn’t really blame him for flubbing it.

It was just a surprise he hadn’t let go of Nureyev’s hand when he started lagging behind during the chase.

“Why do we keep doing Buddy and Vespa these favors anyway?” Juno hissed once he finally caught his breath. The clatter of people running past them led the beats of his heart like overloud fireworks.

They’d plastered themselves against the wall behind a broom closet, and Nureyev’s suit was a dark enough blue that it camouflaged them from the tinted glasses of each armed guard.

Nureyev chuckled, shaking his head. “May I remind you that this was _your_ idea? I told you Captain Aurinko could find better, younger people for the job. Yet, here we are,” he gestured with one of his gloved hands around. “Jumping right back into danger as they welcome us with warm, open arms. Just like old times, hm, Detective?”

Juno pouted. Grown lady or not, he did it because he could. “Don’t patronize me, that was a hypothetical question and you know it.”

Nureyev lifted the hand to Juno’s chin. “I’m just proving a point, dear. No need to look like that.”

Juno squinted at him, not shrugging it off. “Yeah, you always want to, don’t you.”

Nureyev smiled as he leaned in for a kiss. Juno smiled back as he met him halfway.

It’s not long before Nureyev has him pressed against the wall, making him feel around five years younger than he was. He’s still smiling through each kiss as he mumbled, “I think the coast is clear.”

Nureyev hummed. “Then I see no harm in getting cozy.”

Juno laughed as he pushed Nureyev back by the shoulder. Nureyev went willingly. “Quit it, we still have to get the information from the target.”

“Oh, I already have it.”

Juno froze at that, then heaved a sigh. “Who is it then?”

“The person from last night came after us. Do keep up, Juno.”

It struck Juno _then_ that, despite saying he would tell Nureyev how he knew their mystery person from last night, he… forgot about it. 

Call it whatever you like: negligence, a comforting lie, a particularly good railing; a guy could be forgetful with his age and he refused to shame himself for it.

Well, except–

“Juno–”

A door down the hall slammed open, and the sound of even more guards came and ran past them. 

Juno grabbed one of Nureyev’s hands and waited for them to pass before stepping into the corridor. He sprinted as fast as he could down the direction the guards came from.

They were about to reach the exit when Nureyev grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him back into the corner, shoving his suit jacket into Juno’s arms, heavy with its pocket’s contents. 

In one of the pockets were their target’s plans on a burner comms that had been recording during the conversation, with some uplink Juno couldn’t make heads nor tails of. He didn’t know what Nureyev was thinking, throwing it around so haphazardly.

Clutching the dark blue fabric of it to his chest, he felt a stone drop in his gut.

“ _Rosie_.”

He stiffened. 

He’d know that voice anywhere.

Nureyev stepped out, farther from his reach. 

Juno could only watch as Nureyev slicked his hair back (already impeccably held together with pomade and a spritz of hairspray), and smiled the smile of laissez-faire and careless Duke Rose. 

It was jarring to see the identity on Nureyev, like seeing your husband wearing the clothes you met him in.

“Die! It’s been so _long_ ,” he drawled. Juno stayed frozen in place, mind running a mile a minute. Diamond was here and Nureyev knew him. They needed to get out of here. Why was Diamond chasing _them_? “How’s the husband treating you?”

The what?

“Impeccably well, unfortunately,” Diamond replied. “Can’t get rid of her yet though.”

_What?_

Diamond knew nothing about their runaway bride’s thoughts just around the corner, of course, and carried on with their conversation with Duke Rose like they were old friends. “And you? I heard up the grapevine that you got yourself a partner you’ve been pinning as your spouse. Work-spouse or actual spouse?”

“Can’t really say sometimes,” Rose shrugged, turning a bit just so Juno could see the way he touched his chest, where only Juno knew his wedding ring was hanging at the end of a silver chain. “He’s such a fickle, grumbling old thing but I love him for it.”

“Good to know one of us got the good end of this marriage stick then,” Diamond remarked a tad too wistfully for Juno's tastes. “Oh! By the way. Why were you running from my guards, Rosie?”

“My, I haven’t the _slightest_ idea, Die. It’s just that they all seem to be chasing after an escape artist. I didn’t mind the bit of… morning exercise. Though if _they_ did, well, my apologies.”

Diamond laughed and oh, Juno had to close his eye for a moment. “Well, as pleasant as this all is, I’m gonna have to cut this short, Rose. I believe you owe me a few things.”

Juno’s eye wrenched back open. He took a step forward to intercept but Rose moved with a flourish that was mostly just to keep him from moving. 

Juno bit his tongue and stayed.

“What things?”

“An explanation and a Family visit. It’ll be as civil as I can get it to be, but I can’t really promise you much.”

Rose looked over his shoulder, directly at Juno. He made it look like he was deliberating. 

In that single look, Nureyev peaked through the crack, urging Juno in no uncertain terms to trust him.

And hell, alright, Juno trusted him but this was _Diamond_. The child of one of the most notorious crime families this side of the Solar system. 

He hated the doubt that crept through his head but there were just some things even Peter Nureyev couldn’t do. At least, not alone.

Three fingers came from one gloved hand.

Three days.

Juno shook his head. He signed, _Why don’t you just let me come with you?_

Nureyev shrugged and, well. That was on Juno, really. It wasn’t like Nureyev could answer him even through sign.

Nureyev dropped a finger.

Juno rolled his eye.

“Uh, Rosie?”

“I’m thinking, Karimi, give me a moment.”

A shift in clothing as Diamond moved around. “Christ, I forgot how melodramatic you were. You don’t really have a choice here!”

“Oh, at least give me an illusion of one!”

Diamond heaved a sigh then mumbled something under their breath that Juno couldn’t quite catch.

Juno ran a hand through his hair then threw it out in a shrug. _Fine_ . Two days. Then, Juno was going to have to get desperate. He signed, _If you’re even five minutes late, I’m going after you. Do not die on me_.

Nureyev nodded, then Rose slipped back on as he grinned at Diamond and walked.

Juno couldn’t help but hear those heels echoing the hall and think of a lamb going to slaughter.

Clutching Nureyev’s jacket to his chest, the countdown started.

* * *

“This is awful exciting and everything, Boss, but do you really need to go there yourself? I mean, I could just ask Mista Jet–”

Juno rolled his neck as Rita pinned the collar to the neck of his dress. “I’m doing it, Rita. He promised me two days and it’s past that.”

Rita rolled her eyes.

“Hey!”

“Look, this is really heroic and romantic of you, Mista Steel, and I’m sure Mista Nureyev will _love_ that and the look’a you in this _dress_! My gosh, I haven’t seen you this pretty since my birthday!”

“Rita.”

“–But this is kind of a big thing for you! And yeah, sure you decided to do it, kinda like in that one stream where Lizzie had to go after her ex, Carol, who was a zombie! But then Carol took her best friend Fitz and she had to go rescue him and ooh! By the end of it they ended up together, do you remember that one Mista Steel? That stream was my Bible, not to get vintage here–”

Juno turned in his seat as she stepped off her stool and started waving her hands around. He let her keep going, knowing that this was the most she was going to relax since he told her what he was planning.

He turned back to the mirror again, checking his makeup. 

He had to look presentable for this meeting, put together but enough of his past self that he wouldn’t be too unrecognizable from the Juno of years back. He didn’t look too different, but the grays were starting to blend in and he kind of lost an eye between Diamond and Nureyev.

(Benten would probably say he looked like a dumpster fire, pretending to look presentable and slutty at the same time, but he wasn’t here either so what did _he_ know.)

It wasn’t everyday you met up with the man who ordered a hit out for your husband, right? Even if the same man was once going to be your in-law? And Juno could only really think of one person who’d send someone as ridiculous and sweet as Diamond Karimi after a notorious con and art thief like Duke Rose.

Stephano Karimi.

The old bastard. 

(It was a surprise he wasn’t dead yet, but hey, Croesus lived past 85, right? The uber-rich had longevity in spades these days.)

Juno had liked Stephano, and Stephano liked him back. Back when he used to be this precocious little bastard of a cop with an authority problem, dating the child of one of the most notorious mob families this side of the Solar system. And Stephano liked to snoop in on HCPD cases back in the day.

No big deal, right? Just your usual corruption and crime.

Well. Not according to Stephano, no. He was half the reason Juno even left Diamond–

“Mista Steel?”

Juno hummed.

“You still listening?”

“Depends. You still talking about zombies?”

“What? No! I was talking about Jurassic Galaxy. Keep _up_ , Boss!”

“Rita, I’m too tired to keep up with whatever stream or movie you’re fixating on, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Sometimes a lady just can’t keep up.”

Rita scoffed. “You’re so _old_!”

Juno whirled around, a hand on his waist as he glared down at her. “Excuse me, _I’m_ old? You’re older than me!”

“Yeah? And what about it?”

Juno rolled his eye. 

He gestured to his face, “I do okay with this?”

Rita blinked up at him, then said, “Oh, yeah! You did great– Hey, wait a minute! Oh, I’m not done with you, mista. Boss, I know you decided to do this yourself but–”

Juno let out a long, sustained groan. “Ritaaaaa.”

“Are you _sure_ you really want to go back there? What if Diamond shoots you?”

Juno snorted. “Diamond won’t shoot me, Rita. The hardest thing I’m going to have to do with this rescue mission is, worst-case scenario: hauling an unconscious Nureyev aboard this ship. Guy’s heavier than he looks even _without_ his clothes on–”

“Ew! Boss, TMI!”

“That’s what you get. _I’ll_ be fine, Rita. It’s Nureyev we gotta worry about. Speaking of, how far are we from their asteroid?”

Rita fished her comms out from her jean pockets. “Uh… pretty close, actually. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes, at our speed. And considering I threw off the patrols around these parts, I might get us there faster…”

“Good.” Juno took a deep breath. “Great. That’s. Hm.”

Rita laid her comms down on the table then took one of his hands. For once, they weren’t too sticky or else Juno wouldn’t have let her touch Nureyev’s jacket, draped around his shoulders, over his dress. 

“Are you _sure_ you’re okay with this, Mista Steel?” She asked, quieter, serious. “I know Diamond was hard to leave behind, and when they left Hyperion City, you…”

Juno took another deep breath. 

He _knew_ , alright? 

Somewhere back on Mars, some rando who moved into his dingy apartment probably rifled around his closet and found that old bridal sari he’d been meaning to wear to their wedding.

If he closed his eyes, he could still smell the dust and dead dreams on it.

But as happy as he’d been with them, he already dug his cold ditch in the lot and he wouldn’t have met Nureyev if he hadn’t.

He nodded to himself. 

“I’ll be fine. I’ve made my peace with that.” 

Then, he grinned. It didn’t feel entirely too genuine, but eh, fake it ‘til you make it, right? 

Like two nights ago, he felt himself slipping back into old habits, wanting to get the last laugh in any given situation. “Do you wanna know a secret though?”

“What?”

“You gotta swear you’re not gonna tell anyone, Rita, it’s pretty scandalous.”

“Ooh!” Rita’s hands squeezed tight. “I _promise_ , Mista Steel. Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit!”

Juno leaned down a bit and whispered, “I think they’d still want me back, if they ever saw me again.”

Rita giggled at that, slapping his thigh. “Oh, _you_! What will Mista Nureyev say if he knew that?”

He didn’t, Juno thought to himself. Some measure of guilt wormed its way into his gut about it and decided to stay there. 

Juno didn’t want to tell him and now that this was all happening, it felt like it was out of his control.

Juno straightened up, then turned to start preparing for his mission. “That he’s lucky I married him instead. C’mon.”

* * *

Nureyev learned from early on that he was going to be a liability to anyone willing to take the fall for him. 

Initially (well, after Mag anyway), it had been a perk. After all, whenever trouble arose, he disappeared. 

What better alibi than to lead on a clueless acquaintance so they could take the fall while _real_ perp ran off scot-free and ditched his identity on the same day?

But then he met a lady.

And then he _married_ the guy.

Mag always taught him to ‘save some future for later,’ and well, the investment paid back handsomely.

And while being married to Juno Steel was very much a dream come true to him, it, like all things, came with some problems.

For one, neither of them liked giving the other up. For another, being with him served to be a lesson in and of itself, because here he was taking the fall for him instead.

Now, you’ll never hear it coming out of his mouth, but Nureyev wasn’t as limber and loose as he was years back. They were years into retirement now, and though that wouldn’t make disappearing impossible, being out of practice meant it would take a lot longer than he wanted it to.

And Juno had given him only _two days_ , the impossible bastard that he loved.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the menacing glint in Juno’s eye from the darkness of that hallway. And while most of the time the sight of it made him weak in the knees, that time he really _did_ feel fear. 

Not for his marriage. Just that he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise.

The goon hit him again.

Nureyev threw himself with the punch, play-acting the part of torturee. 

For a man years into his retirement, he had to say, he was in better shape than he thought he would be. It still hurt, no doubt, but all things considered this was as civil as the Karimi’s were going to get for a Family visit.

They even let him dine with Diamond and Nakato, the infamous husband of theirs (she was as lovely as Diamond hated her.) 

They even waited for midnight before deploying the Family on him. 

That meant he had enough time to concoct a plan for leaving.

See, he still knew every nook and cranny of this manor, though the blueprints were a bit hazy with age in his mind. Some rooms and camera placements were blurry. But, Nureyev was no novice to improvisation and all he really had to do was leave. Damn the clean escape, he just needed to get home and take a nice, hot and bubbly bath and forget all about this mess.

They put him in this dreary slab of concrete basement room with no windows. From his count, they were past upward of eleven hours of the same boring schtick about asking him where he put the money he sold the stolen goods for.

Honestly, how _crass_ of them. Who even knew the Karimis would notice a few gold bars worth an immeasurable amount in creds go missing around _ten_ years ago? 

Nureyev knew crime families were notorious for holding grudges, but really? What did they expect from hiring a thief? And what did they have to gain for torturing a going-on-seven-years retired and reformed one?

Oh, it wasn’t important.

What _was_ important was that this was enough time, Nureyev thought to himself. For what, he didn’t know, but it was enough.

He was already out of his bindings anyway. He just had to wait for the perfect time.

Whenever that was.

So, he stayed still and stuck to his skeleton of a plan.

Another hit, this time to his gut. Nureyev didn’t have to act out the dry coughing in his part, but the tears were a nice touch. He laughed, ragged and measured to rile his captor. “Not to sound rude, but this routine got old five punches ago. Anything else on your docket?”

He could see his captor’s jaw clenching, see them open their mouth to tell him off or gloat about how he could do a lot of other things, but then the doors hissed open to reveal yet another stranger into the mix.

“Tag-teaming!” was Nureyev’s mock-delighted reaction. “Oh, I haven’t had to do that in a _while_. You’ll forgive my candor, I’ve been in retirement until very recently, you see–”

“Get him outta here,” said the new goon. “Ol’ Boss wants him in the sun room.”

How rude. 

His captor brusquely demagnetized his bound feet from the chair, not noticing the way Nureyev had to move his feet to make it look convincing.

“Get up, you heard ‘im.”

“Oh, of course,” Nureyev said, faking a wobble as he moved to stand. He winced more at the crackle of his knees as he did so than the pain in his abdomen. 

He turned to the new goon. “Um, would you mind terribly if I asked what time it was?”

The goons looked at each other, his captor shrugging and the newcomer looking very put out about having a chatty prisoner.

“‘Round past one.”

“In the morning?”

“No more questions.”

Again, rude. 

He was bagged again and hauled through the halls of the manor. An elevator ride later, he began to hear voices. Not serving staff, but Stephano’s.

“You know you’re always welcome here,” came his wheezy, halting laughter. Nureyev scowled under the bag. 

“My Diamond loved you _so much_. I’m pretty sure they still do, and it’s good to cash in on favors but this really is nothing personal– Oh?” There was shuffling in the room adjacent. “Oh, well, bring him in then.”

A door slid open. Nureyev felt someone shove him from behind. It almost made him relax his shoulders out of reflex, almost gave him away. He feigned his fumbling steps and winced as the bag came off his head.

The room was drenched in golden sunlight. It was one in the morning, Nureyev thought to himself. The top of the Karimi mansion was sun-facing during Solar-time early mornings.

Which meant that he was past his deadline by an hour.

“‘Nothing personal’,” came a familiar scoffing tone. “Stephano, this is the second partner you’ve taken from me. How can I _not_ take it personally?” 

Nureyev blinked the sunlight from his eyes and looked around the sun room to locate its source.

* * *

It felt nice, just walking into a mobster’s mansion like you owned half the Solar system. The Karimi’s asteroid was just one of almost eight thousand along the Trojans, just a ways away from Mars. 

Juno had been here exactly once, when Diamond said he probably had to ask for a blessing. And though it’s been years, it seemed that waving his name around got him a free pass straight into enemy territory, still.

Soon enough, he was escorted to a room and sat down on a plush couch and an even cushier cushion.

He couldn’t forget how incredibly unnecessary some things were in this manor. Years and a bit of head trauma could change a lot. There wasn’t much to miss though. 

It was still gaudy as hell. Halls full of art that Nureyev probably helped steal, a few paintings of previous heads of the household, a tasteful painting of a naked body here and there because Stephano was tacky. Gold and white and jade and ruby statues. _Chandeliers_. 

It was _too much_.

The sun room, whatever the hell that was, was a bit bright for one in the morning. It was probably the emptiest room on the asteroid.

Juno was starting to wonder if he should have brought a hat or sunglasses when one of the doors slid open and revealed an old man in a hoverchair.

He stood, hoping his stance was friendly and tone jovial enough to make this seem like an everyday occurrence. “Stephano, it's good to see you.”

Stephano laughed. "Juno Steel. I never thought I'd see the day."

Juno propped a hand on his waist, the hand that held his wedding ring out in the open. He noted the way Stephano’s eyes followed its movement. “Yeah, well, you were right. I _am_ going to cash in that favor you owe me.”

When Stephano’s eyes finally met his, he raised a brow.

“Is that so?”

“Yep. See, you took something that belongs to me and I kinda need it back.”

Stephano made his way across the room and to the space in front of Juno’s seat, gesturing for him to sit back down.

Guards tailed after Stephano, one of them staying by his side as the other served up drinks. “Do you still like your whiskey on the rocks?”

He settled back into the too-comfy cushions. “Made an impression, did I?”

Stephano laughed. “It’s a simple question.”

“Sure.”

As he watched the guard prepare his drink, he continued, “But I don’t really like it, y’know? It was just something I got used to. No, I don’t mind, really.” He insisted. 

The guard had stopped pouring with a fearful glance towards him. 

“It’s just nice to be remembered so specifically.” 

They nodded, a tense smile creeping onto their face as Juno nodded for them to go on.

He looked back at Stephano. “How are you these days, Stephano? Maintenance going okay?”

“Still quite the comedian, then.”

“It’s a simple question,” he parroted back, accepting the drink with a nod to the guard. “Thanks.”

They smiled at him, and continued smiling as they served Stephano’s drink.

“I’m well, thank you for asking. You’re more polite than when I saw you last, it’s… odd.”

“Thanks. Husband got me de-clawed when he put a ring on it.”

They had a quiet moment as the guard took away the equipment and palmed their drinks like civilized people. As civilized as two retired criminals could be, at least.

Stephano broke first.

“What have I taken from you?”

Juno hummed, then took a sip once the glass felt cool enough. “My husband.”

“You mean Dia–”

“I mean Duke Rose.”

Stephano froze at that. Juno counted the seconds before laughter broke.

Six seconds. It was like Juno was sitting in front of the same old man from years ago, less weathered and gray, but still the same laughter he remembered.

“You married _Duke Rose_ ,” he said between breaths. “ _You!_ ”

Juno rolled his eye. “Alright, laugh it up. You still have to give him back. That’s my favor from you.”

He waved one of the guards away to go retrieve Nureyev, probably, his other hand wiping a tear away from his eye. “Oh, that is the longest I’ve laughed in a while. You really are something special, Steel.”

Juno didn’t respond to that. Instead, he asked, “So, why Rose?”

“Hm?”

“Why take him?”

“Oh, hasn’t he told you?”

Juno snorted. “I wouldn’t ask if he did.”

“He stole something from me.”

Juno took a sip from his glass, looking around to watch the sun filter through the glass dome ceiling. “So? He’s a thief. It’s what he does.”

“You condone that now?” came Stephano’s astonished question. “What _has_ the HCPD been up to?”

Juno snorted. “Don’t be coy. You and I both know you kept tabs on me.”

“Right until you dropped off the grid, yes.”

Another moment of silence.

“So you stole him from _me_ instead, did you? That hurts, Stephano.”

Stephano laughed again, either not knowing or not caring that Juno was completely serious. “It’s not that. You know you’re always welcome here. My Diamond loved you _so much_. I’m pretty sure they still do.”

A door slid open and the guard from before was there, walking over to Stephano’s side. “And it’s good to cash in on favors but this really is nothing personal– Oh?”

The guard had leaned down to whisper something into his ear. Juno tried to keep his breathing even, keep calm.

“Oh, well, bring him in then,” Stephano ordered.

Another door opened, this one behind Juno from what he could here. There was some scuffling, but Juno didn’t turn. 

No, not yet.

“‘Nothing personal,’” Juno scoffed, waving his glass around. “Stephano, this is the second partner you’ve taken from me. How can I _not_ take it personally?” 

“Well, how was I supposed to know you were married to _Duke Rose?_ ”

“You haven’t even answered my question about what he did to you.”

* * *

Nureyev was forced to his knees between Stephano and Juno.

Juno barely batted an eye on him, a look of faked seething rage in his eyes.

He couldn’t help but gawk at the sight of him and honestly, who could? With the cream slim dress with a slit running up the thigh, Greek sandals and golden cuffs. Juno looked breathtaking under the glow of the sunlight and lethal with the look in his eye.

Wait, did he just say _second_ partner?

“Juno?”

Juno looked at him then, unimpressed. Nureyev couldn’t help the shiver that ran through him. “Duke. What have you done to this poor old man?”

Right, he was Duke Rose, right now. Amoral happy-go-lucky thief. Play the part, Peter.

Nureyev rolled his shoulders in a shrug, started making a sound in his throat that was a little impersonal in tone. “Maybe I stole a few gold bars or six. Nothing _big_ like the greatest getaway vehicle in the galaxy.”

“That was _you_?” was Stephano’s impressed question.

“Us, actually,” Juno corrected. “And, really? How far back was this, honey?”

Nureyev inhaled. “Ten years ago.”

Juno sighed. “ _Ten_ . _Years_. Stephano…”

“An example has to be made of him, and you know Diamond has a soft heart.”

Juno scoffed, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back in his seat. “So, why isn’t Duke untied yet? Do I have to do it myself? We had a deal.”

“Oh, well,” Stephano started. “I was actually under the impression that you were bargaining for him.”

“Ba–” Juno laughed, incredulous and oh, where was this level of casualness when he was still Dahlia Rose? Nureyev watched the way his eyes crinkled with actual mirth and tamped down the urge to stand and kiss him.

It had been a long two days.

“ _Bargaining,_ ,” he spat and Nureyev had to tamp down harder. “Stephano Karimi, lemme ask you something. How much is your child worth to you?”

Stephano inclined his head. “Is that a threat?”

“I’m asking because I hurt them. Badly. Remember? Remember how you basically paid me off the wedding just so they could keep the Family from falling apart while you were in some– some _turf_ war with the Stuarts? On. Our. Wedding day?”

Stephano blanched.

But Juno wasn’t done yet. “Yeah, remember now, don’t you? How much are you willing to bet that if I went to them _right now_ , they’d still propose to me? Is your plea deal with the Moreau's enough without a Karimi manning the Family?”

Stephano was properly pale now, tight-lipped with displeasure. One might say he looked ready to pass out or was having a particularly devastating heart attack.

Now, Nureyev had a _lot_ of questions that could probably wait, so he filed it away and waited.

Juno shrugged. “So, what’ll it be, Karimi?”

Stephano drained his glass, huffing as it went down. 

Nureyev counted his breaths.

Juno put his glass down on the table, half empty and sweating with cold. Nureyev swallowed drily.

“Get ‘im out of here and get out of my sight, Steel.”

Juno stood and walked over to Nureyev, the sleeves of Nureyev’s suit jacket flapping over his shoulder. “Nice working with you, Stephano.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

Juno knelt down in front of him. He lifted a hand to raise Nureyev’s tie to his nose, dabbing carefully at the blood there.

Though it tossed his heart aflutter with something fierce, Nureyev huffed both in and out of character. “That tie is never going to be the same again.”

Juno only rolled his eye in response to that. He mumbled. “You’re out of your bindings, aren’t you?”

“Of course, I’m not a _novice_ ,” Nureyev scoffed.

And though the exchange was casual and blase, he took note of how tightly Juno’s jaw was clenched as he examined Nureyev’s face, and prodded around discreetly.

Juno leaned in for a kiss and Nureyev provided but a peck, knowing it would ease some of his tension, knowing anything past that would only ramp it up. 

“I missed you,” he said very quietly.

“You were late,” Juno retorted, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Sorry. Got sidetracked.”

Nureyev dropped his bindings with a quick twist of his wrist, sending them clattering to the floor. There was shuffling by the door, as Juno had plainly not touched him in any way that mattered.

Stephano wasn’t surprised by this. As he shouldn’t, Nureyev thought. Karimi knew who he hired.

Juno helped him to his feet, shrugging the suit jacket off to give back to him. Nureyev took it gingerly, concealing all the winces he could as he shrugged it on.

“This is sweet,” Stephano said. “But I think you and I both know that it isn’t going to be easy leaving.”

Juno sighed, rolling his shoulders to loosen up before grabbing a blaster from his inner thigh. “I didn’t think it would be.”

“Again, it’s nothing personal,” Stephano said, beginning to drift away to some back door. “I’m retired, after all. I don’t give orders anymore. Diamond might not block you from leaving, but I’m not so sure about Nakato.”

“Who?” Juno intoned.

Nureyev didn’t pay this any mind, grabbing a few knives from his pockets. He still knew where to go, after all. “Never mind him. Let’s go.”

* * *

“Hey,” Juno whispered as they stuck closely to the walls. “Hey, can I talk to you about what happened back there?”

Nureyev exhaled through his nose and turned to look at him. “Can’t this wait until we’re safe?”

“ _Will_ it wait?” Juno insisted. “I mean, not that we won’t have to talk about it eventually but I kind of already built myself up _now_ and if I push it aside, I might end up not talking about it.”

Damn it, he was right.

And so was Stephano. 

Nakato M. Karimi had doubled security in the time it took for them to locate the emergency exit stairs and make their way down a few floors. And though a few of the guards that knew Juno and Nureyev enough let them pass through a few floors, the rest of them weren’t keen on conversation. Or using the stun settings on their blasters.

“ _Nureyev_.”

With an aggrieved sigh, Nureyev punched a code into one of the few doors in the hallway. He pushed Juno inside the closet and turned to face him. 

With as much patience as he could muster, he said, “You want to say your piece? Make it quick. I have not slept a _wink_ and I am sorry, Juno, I really am sorry that I couldn’t come back to you any earlier, but–”

“I was going to apologize for not telling you about Diamond sooner,” Juno blurted out.

Nureyev leaned against the door, shoving his hands into his pockets because his torso was too tender for him to cross his arms. “You _were_ going to, right?”

“I kind of didn’t want to but yes,” Juno admitted, all the fight suddenly out of him. He leaned back against the wall behind him. “Then I forgot and honestly, I should have told you earlier even if I thought it was never gonna come up.”

“That you almost got married once?”

“Yeah.”

“To someone I used to work with?”

“Okay, that part, I didn’t even know about.” Juno insisted, then threw a curious look up at Nureyev and, well, how could anyone say no to a face like that? “You and Diamond were…?”

Nureyev shrugged. “We were… acquaintances. I wasn’t really in the headspace to call it a friendship and I probably would have left them for dead given the opportunity.”

“You don’t sound like you’ve changed your mind about that.”

Nureyev pushed away from the door and reached for Juno. The way he reached back made Nureyev feel so very tired and safe at the same time. “Do you know how much they _love_ to talk about you?”

“Uh…” Juno leaned away a bit, to look up at him. “What, like in passing? I mean, it probably struck them pretty hard, right?”

“You have to understand, Juno. Even when we were dining in front of their _husband_ last night. It was always about that runaway bride of theirs that they’re sure is going to come back _any_ day now.”

Juno hissed through clenched teeth in sympathy. He looked genuinely pained by the insinuation and that made a few signs in Nureyev’s head flicker, reading out things like _what if he still loves them?_ and _were you just second pickings?_ and _does it matter?_

Nureyev reached up to run a hand through Juno’s curls. “They still seem pretty taken with you. And with the way you spoke to their father earlier, I think you know that.”

“That was supposed to be a joke,” Juno quipped. “You know, like, ‘None of my exes ever get over me.’”

“And they never will be,” Nureyev sighed dramatically, if a bit bitterly. “May they die in jealousy.”

Juno chuckled.

Nureyev leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.

“I love you,” Juno said.

It killed the signs in his head something quick. Nureyev smiled then pressed another kiss to his forehead.

“I love you too.”

“We have to go,” Juno breathed, urging him gently to the door. “Let’s go home.”

Something inside Nureyev warmed at the words. Or maybe that was just the exhaustion and hunger catching up to him. 

No matter.

He turned and opened the door. 

And was presented with the sight of seven whining blasters aimed at vital parts of his body.

“Slight problem, dear. Do you see a camera in there?”

“Uh, yeah. Upper right corner… That’s bad, isn’t it?”

Nureyev carefully raised his arms in surrender and tensed his arms, trying to feel for the knives holstered under his sleeves. “Oh, well.”

“Babe…”

“You may want to take your blaster out again.”

Juno let out a groan.

* * *

Juno, for all his whining, actually _missed_ fighting. 

The thrill of the speed, the momentum of it all, carrying him from one form to the next. It was a dance he had enough of in his earlier years, sure. Dancing with a partner who knew you well enough, though… 

It was intoxicating.

Nureyev covered his left while Juno spun around and stunned enough people he could. It wasn’t the same kind of marksmanship he’d had with two eyes, but Juno had trained with Buddy enough to hone it back to shape somehow.

Two, three, four goons down with the remaining count on his cartridge. 

Nureyev pulled him back to his chest as he took another one out from his holster and reloaded. 

Juno felt the force of his throw against his back.

“You better not be killing anyone,” Juno warned.

“Not in my life, dear. Just slowing them down. With a few nonlethal injuries.”

Juno spun again at the sound of footsteps then froze when he found just one person standing down the hall. Sharp in a red and white tailored suit, buzzed blond curls a stark contrast against their dark skin.

“Who the _hell_ …”

“So,” they said. “ _You’re_ the ex.”

Nureyev grunted with a throw Juno didn’t see. The sound of it impacting didn’t sound watery or… worryingly cracky, so Juno didn’t look. “Nakato! Good morning! Didn’t expect to see you so soon. Did you sleep well?”

Juno squinted at them. “Nakato…?”

Nureyev leaned in to whisper, “Diamond’s husband, dear.”

“Oh. Oh! Well, uh. Yeah,” he spoke up, putting his free hand up in an awkward wave. “I’m the ex. Hi, Juno Steel, ex-private eye. We were just… on our way out and I think you’re blocking the way. So… if you could just move?”

“You’re in Karimi territory,” she said.

“And we want to head out of it!” Nureyev answered a little too loudly and happily. Juno threw him a look. “I’m sure Stephano told you about Juno’s condition for letting me go.”

Nakato didn’t seem impressed with that. She brought a hand to her ear and said blankly, “Lock the gates, please. And send a few more people up to Hall E.”

Juno took a moment to calm himself. “Can you take this while I call Rita?”

“I hardly think it’s that difficult to multitask,” Nureyev argued with a grin. He walked around to retrieve a few of his knives from the stunned guards. “If Rita can do it…”

“That’s not as funny as you think it is,” Juno snapped.

Nureyev shrugged, brows raised with obvious mocking doubt. Juno rolled his eye and fished his comms earpiece out.

“Rita.”

“ _Boss? You get to Mista Nureyev alright?_ ”

“Yeah, but they locked us in the dome. Think you can get it open somehow?”

“ _I’ll see what I can do, Boss, but it might take some time._ ”

A few guards ambled up from a door on the wall next to Nakato. Juno took aim.

“How much time?”

“ _Around…_ ” The sounds of typing filled his ear. “ _Five to ten minutes. Then five more to fly around to your side._ ”

Juno shot a few blasts while Nureyev surged forward. “Three o’clock!”

Nureyev spun to his right and kicked down a guard.

“ _No, Boss, it’s only a quarter to two.”_

“No, not you!” Juno growled out. He ducked under a thrown hook and kicked the guard in their chest. “I mean. That’s more than enough time. Thanks, Rita.”

“ _Sure thing, Boss. Good luck_.”

“Yeah, you too. Bye.”

He shot the first few within shooting range, then ducked when he felt the air shift behind him.

Nureyev pinned a few to place with a well placed shot to the pant leg. Juno stunned them in quick succession, then shook his blaster around a bit as it started heating up.

“You have more spares, don’t you?” Nureyev chastised as he stepped around Juno and used one of the goons as a shield.

Juno blew gusts at the barrel. “Yeah. I’m actually, uh, doing great right now? Worse comes to worst, I’ll just grab one of theirs. Duck!”

Nureyev dropped the stunned guard to the floor and let Juno rain five more shots to the guards that had begun flanking them.

Nakato was gone.

Juno rose to his feet and threw a punch at an oncoming guard, made sure to use the thick of his wedding band to hit their nose. 

He grabbed them by the collar and asked, “Where did she go?”

The guard spat at his face.

Juno inhaled carefully, then bodily threw the person over his shoulder. 

“My,” came Nureyev’s faux concern. Juno knew that heavy-lidded look for what it really was though. “How aggressive.”

“Shut the hell up and collect your knives. Nakato doesn’t matter right now. We need to keep going.”

“How much time do we have?”

“Twenty minutes, give or take. How close are we to the exit?”

“With the route we’re taking, not very. Follow me.”

Nureyev led them around the way he always did: through unconventional means. The happy coincidence was that the Karimi mansion didn’t have vents and dumb waiters and garbage chutes. 

And this time around, Nureyev wasn’t aiming to steal something, so they were mostly sticking to trying to get to the ground floor exit.

Stealth was never Juno’s forte, but he learned a thing or two, working with criminals. 

It didn’t take long before they found themselves guards with the same size of suits as them.

“Oh, do we _have_ to leave this?” Nureyev said, holding the cream gown in his hands like a child in a candy store begging for a treat. “It just seems like such a loss.”

“What about your suit?”

“Oh, you’ve ruined my tie but I’ve already shoved the few things I could into my pockets.”

“Can you fit another dress in your pockets somehow?” came Juno’s indulgent quip.

It took him a moment, but the answer was yes, actually. Yes, Nureyev could. It didn’t make sense but that was the last of Juno’s problems at the moment.

They reached the main doors without any further altercations. On Juno’s count, they’re at the fifteen-minute mark and Rita has yet to call for an update.

Juno nodded at the guards at the door, shifting the sunglasses up the bridge of his nose to conceal his eye.

“Shift change?” asked one of the guards.

Nureyev lied easily, “No, actually, we’re going to go out front in case the intruders try it. Still haven’t found them and I’d rather we don’t underestimate them. Missus Karimi’s orders.”

“Are you insinuating something? Sheila and I can handle it.” asked the other guard.

“Yeah, that’s a bit harsh, Connor,” Juno said. “He and Sheila can handle it.”

“I’m more of a they actually.”

“Right, they can probably handle it.”

Nureyev turned to look at him, then threw his hands up, “I’ll go tell Missus Karimi then.”

Sheila, Whatsisface, and Juno started up at the same time.

“No, actually, go right on ahead.”

“We’re just messing with you.”

“I was just joking, man! Yeesh.”

Nureyev chuckled. “That’s better. Come on then, Naoise.”

And then, they were out of the door. Just like that.

“What kind of name is Connor?” Nureyev asked once they were out of earshot.

“I was just spitballing,” Juno defended, bumping arms with him. “And literally– you can’t speak to me about what kind of name Connor is. Naoise?”

“It’s got a legend attached to it.”

“Huh, cool. Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

Nureyev hummed, looking out at the garden. “Rather smoothly, actually. I fear it went a bit too–”

The whine of a blaster rang in the air. “Hands up, Rose.”

Juno sighed, running a hand through his face and dislodging his sunglasses. “You _had_ to say it, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t even get to,” Nureyev defended, putting his hands up as he did a slow about-face. “Alright, you caught us, Missus Karimi!”

“Get back in here or I shoot Steel,” Nakato threatened, calmly enough that Juno feared that she might just do it. 

“Which one of us?” Juno asked. Just a few more minutes until Rita came through, he thought. Just stall, Steel.

Nakato didn’t even bat an eye at him.

“Juno, please don’t antagonize the professional assassin.”

“The _what_? Wait, y’know what? Never mind. Listen here, tough guy, Nakato, Moreau, or whatever your name is. I don’t care about what weird loyal pact you have with Stephano. Keeping prisoners like Duke around like you think he can’t escape you? Not gonna be a good look on how you run the Family when he inevitably does. Because believe me, he’s going to slip through the cracks at some point.”

“Shut him up,” she told Nureyev.

“I really can’t do that, Nakato. Trust me, I’ve tried. I’m afraid it’s just part of his nature.”

“Do it or I will–”

Juno scoffed. “Oh, you’ll what, huh? Your hands are tied. You shoot me, Diamond leaves you. You shoot Duke, I shoot you back.”

“I believe that’s what most people call an impasse, Missus Karimi!” Nureyev piped in.

Juno pointed at him. “Yeah, see, he gets it. Now if you let us go, I think that’d be the most low-risk–”

A blaster shot broke through his statement, pushing Nureyev down to the ground as fast as he could. 

But there was no impact of a body or a trillion volts connecting with something like a fence or a bush anywhere behind them. 

Just something heavy hitting the floor and a clatter.

Juno pushed himself up and immediately checked if Nureyev was awake.

To Juno’s relief, he was, though a bit groggy.

“You okay?” Juno asked, checking over Nureyev for injuries.

“Juno– Juno, I’m fine. Are you?”

“Fine. It was…” 

He looked up at their exit and, when he didn’t find their escape ship, looked back at the mansion. 

And found Diamond Karimi. 

They were like a ghost, was all Juno could think. Dressed in an all white suit, salt and pepper hair braided neatly over their shoulder, a smoking blaster in one hand and their husband at their feet. 

He honestly couldn’t help but gape at what aging had done to Diamond. He hadn’t gotten a good look at the casino. 

They had deepened frown and worry lines, bags under their eyes, visible even at the distance he and Nureyev were at. But he could still find that same carefree Diamond Karimi underneath all those wrinkles, he could see that face crinkling into a radiant smile that Juno would have fought for years ago.

But he didn’t. 

Instead, he chose Good. To stop whatever interplanetary mob fight Stephano’s lack of heir would ensue and kill countless lives, Hyperion citizens’ included.

Getting up to his feet and pulling Nureyev up to stand next to him, he didn’t regret choosing Good. 

“Rosie, consider this my wedding gift,” Diamond quipped, a wry smile pulling their face into a painful looking grimace. “Congratulations.”

“Diamond…” Juno called out.

“Juno,” Nureyev said. 

Behind them, the sounds of the ship from outside the dome finally came. 

Juno’s comms pinged. But he stayed stock still, like he’d done so years ago, looking up at the ghost of Diamond Karimi.

Diamond would have to see him go this time and the thought made Juno want to cry in sympathy and guilt.

“I’m sorry,” was all Juno could manage out of his mouth.

Diamond’s grimace turned watery, fast, like a dam breaking. They always were a crybaby, and Juno couldn’t help but tear up. 

“Did you at least love me?”

Without hesitation, he said, “I did.” Nureyev’s palm slid against his, fingers intertwining. “I did. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, love,” Diamond reassured. 

It wasn’t okay. 

Even after the years apart, Juno still knew that voice. That voice meant that it was _never_ going to be okay, like managing the Karimi territories wasn’t going to be an okay thing until the day they both died. 

But they would have to deal with it.

“It wasn’t your fault, Juno. Now, go.”

“Diamond–”

“Juno. We have to go home.” Nureyev said, voice firm. Juno looked up at him, and saw a stony look on Nureyev’s face as he looked at Diamond.

Juno squeezed back. 

“Okay,” he whispered, turning to look tearily up at Nureyev, smiling. “Let’s go home.”

* * *

Nureyev jolted and hissed as pain seared up his back. 

Juno finally peeled his undershirt off, pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade.

He rolled his eyes, as he shoved his pants off. “Say your piece. I know you want to gloat about me taking so long in that basement.”

Juno snorted. “If you want to say it like that.”

Nureyev twisted around as gingerly as he could, taking a seat on the toilet so that his pants could slide off with gravity. 

He looked expectantly up at Juno, waiting for the gloating.

But Juno didn’t take the bait. Just took his time wiping his makeup off by the sink, not looking at Nureyev as he did so.

Now that they were home, safe, sound, and sore from travelling coach on the shuttle back, there was no sense of great urgency between them. Nothing pushing Nureyev forward to choose now instead of dreaming about the future. No more tensed waiting for the right moment to strike. 

Just two people cleaning themselves up in their bathroom.

Juno finished with his makeup and started stripping. Actually, there it was. The _one_ thing pushing Nureyev to choose now: the heat pooling in his gut.

Well, apart from the silence Juno was giving him. Juno so _hated_ to be left with his thoughts.

“Juno?”

Juno threw his shirt in the basin with Nureyev’s, probably to wash the blood out later. “Yeah?”

“Earlier, when we talked about Diamond, you said you didn’t actually want to tell me.”

Juno froze, then met Nureyev’s eyes. “Yeah.”

“May I ask why?”

“Will it matter?”

And, well, Nureyev had thought about it on their cab ride from the shuttle station. 

It wasn’t that he wanted to dig up any bad memories and whatever baggage came with it. He’d seen the way Diamond had wept, how Juno looked close to following suit in the moment of their escape. He’d seen that there was something painful there, a closeness Nureyev would never be able to understand unless Juno wanted to share it with him like with his memories with Benzaiten and Sarah.

All stories Juno gave him, he found, were earned in some ways. These ones he had to file in the “to earn” category.

Juno unhooked his earrings and put them on the shelf below the mirror, looking like he very much wanted to change the subject.

Nureyev asked. “Will it? Matter, I mean, if you tell me.”

Juno inclined his head at that. “I don’t think so.”

Nureyev kicked his pants off of his feet and spread his legs. “You don’t have to tell me anything, then. Come here.”

Juno, still clad in his pants and bralette, bound up to stand between his legs. In a familiarity that thrilled Nureyev endlessly every time he noticed it, Juno placed his hands on Nureyev’s shoulders, his ring palm-warm as Juno rubbed at sore shoulders.

Nureyev angled his head up. Juno bent down to kiss him.

The soft yet fierce unspoken relief in their kisses gave way to sighs, grunts as Juno had to hold onto the wall above the toilet, knee on the lid between Nureyev’s legs. The relaxing ebb and flow of lips, push and pull of their bodies–

Pain. 

Juno grazed up against one of the bruises on his shoulder blades.

Nureyev jolted. Juno immediately withdrew, which made Nureyev lean forward for him.

“What is it, did I–”

“Just one of the bruises, dear,” Nureyev reassured. “Come back.”

Juno snorted, then started giggling to himself, holding Nureyev back by the shoulders. “Babe, we’re making out on the toilet.”

Nureyev couldn’t help the smile on his face. “Yes, and?”

Juno grinned and oh, if Nureyev’s heart didn’t thrill at the sight of it. In that teasing low voice of his, Juno leaned back in enough so Nureyev could hear him say, “I don’t know if you know this, Nureyev, but there’s a perfectly good bathtub and shower in here.”

Nureyev gave him a mock gasp, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?”

Juno rolled his eye, then pulled away completely. “I’m running the bath. Get in the shower.”

Nureyev reached out to smack his ass before he got too far out of reach. “So bossy today, Mister Steel.”

Juno gave him a mock offended look. Nureyev wanted to pull him back in and kiss it off his face.

“Well, Mister Steel, I wouldn’t be so bossy if you stop making me make out with you on the toilet and get cleaned up so we can take care of your back.”

Nureyev hummed. “My _back_ , you say. Hm… Interesting offer.”

Juno snorted, breaking character. Nureyev couldn’t help but follow suit, knowing that he’d have that besotted look on his face again as he looked up at this goddess of a man.

As much as he loved being back in action, nothing really beat having these moments with his wife, with nothing to file away for the future apart from this window of domesticity they carved out for themselves. Maybe later they’d argue about who’d have to send their clothes to the dry cleaning. Maybe later Juno would kick him out of the kitchen again.

Who knew? The future was full of potential.

Feeling indulgent, he stood to follow Juno and kissed the look off his face anyway.

Juno didn’t resist much, for someone who was adamant about running a bath for them.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! comments are Very much appreciated. 
> 
> i'd link my carrd but that links to my donation stuff and i don't want to link directly just in case. so, instead, you can find me on
> 
> \- [main twt](http://twitter.com/stubborn_jerk) \- [ tumblr ](http://stubbornjerk.tumblr.com/) \- [ art twt (new!)](http://twitter.com/DrawsSj)\- 
> 
> there are 2 deleted scenes for this (one is the beginnings of smut that was supposed to be tacked on at the end there, if it wasn't obvious enough) so, if enough ppl ask for it in the comments, i might just add it as an outtake chapter. we'll see.


End file.
